Roughly two years ago, Arkansas River Valley residents suffering from heart attacks, or other heart-related ailments, had to travel to Little Rock or Fort Smith for heart-related procedures. Now, with the advent of new physicians and top-of-the-line equipment, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center offers some of the best cardiovascular treatment in the state.

The hospital recently finished retooling its cardiac catheterization labs, which were introduced roughly two years ago and coincided with the hiring of Dr. Sastry Prayaga, an interventional cardiologist who directs the labs. The hospital has invested approximately $3.5 million in the cath labs.

With the nearest hospitals able to perform heart procedures over an hour away, Russellville finds itself a suitable — and in some cases, a life-saving — location.

“Time is muscle,” said Dai-Yuan Wang, a cardiology associate at the hospital. “Basically, we’re trying to save the muscle of the heart, and the quicker, the better. But no matter what you do, sending a patient to Little Rock or Fort Smith, that’s a significant waste of time. From here, we can do much better than the average 90 minute window.”

Additionally, the cardiologists at the hospital are performing complex cutting-edge procedures, including performing angioplasties — a procedure that involves widening narrowed arteries with a stent — through the wrist, which allows for a faster recovery period and a lower chance of post-surgical complications.

“I do 95 percent of my work through the wrist,” Prayaga said. “Doing it from the artery in the wrist is the forefront of medicine. St. Mary’s is one of the very few places in Arkansas where all of the angioplasties are done through the wrist, which is a huge accomplishment.

“I can say that the kind of complexity of procedures we do at St. Mary’s is surprising ahead of many centers,” Prayaga added.